Submitted by
Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Writer
United States - Today is January 13, 2014. It is National Amber Alert Awareness Day. Although we see AMBER Alerts on the news from time to time, it is important to be kept up to date so that children can be located immediately. After all, there is strength in numbers. Just this past weekend an Amber Alert was issued for a child in Anderson Missouri and found In Florida safe and unharmed.
AMBER Alert stands for America’s Missing: Broadcasting Emergency Response. It was first founded eighteen years ago on January 13th after Amber Hagerman was abducted in Arlington, Texas. After Hagerman’s abduction, her father soon figured out that media could play an incredibly large part in finding missing children. The Dallas police agreed with this idea and it sparked a revolution across the nation, officially creating the AMBER Alert System in 1996.
Back then, alerts were only sent through radio stations and local television stations, along with some local newspapers. Technology has quickly advanced and now AMBER Alerts are able to be sent to cell phones, televisions, faxes, emails, and are often shown on the national news channels.
Nearly 800,000 children under the age of eighteen go missing every year in the United States (that’s 2,185 children nearly every day). With a network of more than twenty AMBER Alert Plans across the nation, almost six hundred children have been safely recovered through the AMBER Alert Program.
The state of Missouri started using the AMBERT Alert system in 2002 and has had nearly fifty children recovered by the use of it. Missouri’s highway patrolmen along with MoDot play an incredibly large part in locating victims that are originally from Missouri or that are passing through.
Broadcasters, wireless cell phone companies, transportation agencies, and law-enforcement officials willingly work together to locate missing children. The whole idea of AMBER Alerts is to spread the word and have people working together as a community. With hundreds or thousands of people working together for one ultimate cause, the missing child’s chances of being found increase phenomenally. Law enforcement officials that have worked with AMBER Alerts before often say, “The more eyes, the better.”
With today’s technology at our very own fingertips, we can play a large part in finding abducted children. Due to the Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) Program, you are able to register to receive text messages or emails about local kidnappings or disappearances of small children. If you are not in an area that allows you to use the WEA Program, AMBER Alerts are used often on Facebook, AOL, Yahoo, and Google.
Although the AMBER Alert System resulted from a terrible tragedy many years ago, it has created a nationwide network of people, media, and law enforcers so that future abductions can be prevented or quickly put to a stop. For more information on victims, reports, history, or national or local alerts, you can visit www.amberalert.gov or www.missingkids.com.
Written by
Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Writer
Bloomfield, Missouri – Saturday morning every grave at the Missouri State Veterans Cemetery in Bloomfield will have a wreath. For six years, people, businesses, and churches in Stoddard County have contributed money to make sure each and every gravesite will have a beautiful wreath.
Tomorrow morning beginning at 11:00 a.m. more than 2,000 wreaths will arrive and be placed on the graves. You can participate!
Ken Swearengin, director of the Veterans Cemetery said, “Wreaths Across America will have Randy Dunn as master of ceremonies while ceremonial wreaths for each branch of the military will be placed as memorials. Army, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard, Navy, Merchant Marines and POW/MIA veterans will be honored for their sacrifice.”
Wreath Across America is a non-profit organization and formed as an extension of the Arlington Wreath Project. Arlington will conduct their ceremonies at the same time as Bloomfield.
No matter the weather tomorrow, rain, sleet or snow the wreaths will be placed on veterans’ graves. It will be a powerful image: a veteran’s headstone and an evergreen wreath wrapped in red ribbon. It’s an honor to participate. It’s a time of remembrance and a kind gesture of gratitude.
Please come out and honor those who have given so much. The public is encouraged to attend the ceremony beginning at 11:00 a.m.
Submitted by
Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Writer
Columbia, Missouri - With winter break approaching quickly, the University of Missouri Police Department is advising students, faculty, staff and community members to take extra precautions before traveling for the holidays.
“Millions of people in the U.S. anxiously look forward to spending time with extended family over the holidays each year,” said Mike Laughlin, crime prevention officer with MUPD. “Unfortunately, some criminals are very aware that we may have to be away from our homes while visiting family during this holiday season.”
Laughlin offers the following tips for individuals who are traveling for the holidays:
Before you Leave:
• Stow valuable possessions out of sight or take them home when traveling.
• Be sure to lock windows and doors (including the patio door) before leaving.
• Ask someone who is staying in town to watch your residence and change which lights are on to make it appear someone is home.
• Do not leave bicycles outside.
• Write down the serial numbers of all valuable electronic items. Store those numbers somewhere other than inside the home.
• Visit http://www.mupolice.com/cp/ to register bicycles and laptops, and access the printable form to record the serial numbers of valuable possessions.
If Driving to your Destination:
• Check the car’s fluid levels and tire pressure to ensure safety.
• Try and maintain at least one-half tank of gas while on the road.
• Let someone know when you are leaving and when you are scheduled to arrive.
• Wear your seat belt.
If the weather is bad, allow extra time for getting to your destination. Have provisions in the car in case you get stranded (first aid kit, coat, flashlight, blanket, etc.)
Submitted by
Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Writer
Dexter, Missouri - An iconic children’s book will come to life across Southeast Missouri with “The Velveteen Rabbit” a musical adaptation of the classic tale. The show will be performed on November 16 at 2 p.m. at the Dexter High School Auditorium, at 7 p.m. on November 16 at the Sikeston Field House, and on November 17 at 2 p.m. at the Tinnin Fine Arts Center in Poplar Bluff. Admission is $5 per person.
The show, which is part of the Patrons of the Arts 2013-2014 season, is a production of the Imaginary Theatre Company, a professional touring ensemble from St. Louis.
“This is the second season that the Patrons Society has booked the Imaginary Theater Company to come down from St. Louis and present,” said Robert Cook, Director of the Tinnin Center.
It is the first seasons that Three Rivers and the Patrons of the Arts have expanded performances beyond the Tinnin Center. The Patrons group is partnering with the Dexter Chamber of Commerce and the Sikeston Public School Foundation to bring performances to those cities. In addition to “The Velveteen Rabbit,” other Imaginary Theater Company productions performed in all three cities will be “The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe” in January and “The Tortoise and the Hare” in February.
Through the use of literature, folk tales, fairy tales, and new adaptations of classic works, the Imaginary Theatre Company provides the finest in theater for young theater-goers.
“The audience response is always wonderful. Children and their parents truly enjoy these whimsical performances,” said Cook.
Based on Margery Williams’ famed literary classic, The Velveteen Rabbit tells the story of a little boy and his stuffed bunny who wonders what it means to be “real.” After years of adventure and devotion, the bunny becomes a truly beloved friend and is magically transformed into a real woodland rabbit. Join us this holiday season and share in a heartwarming musical tale that celebrates the rewards of loyalty and the wonderful, surprising power of love. The show is appropriate for all ages and family audiences.
“The Velveteen Rabbit” is sponsored in Dexter by Bootheel Recycling, C. A. Walker Construction, Inc., Cypress Point, Edward Jones: Charlie Flannigan & Ben Worley, Faurecia Emissions Control Technologies, First Midwest Bank of Dexter, First National Bank of Dexter, Holden Law Office, Mary E. Worley, Dexter Realty & Appraisal Services, Southeast Health Center of Stoddard County, Southern Bank of Dexter, The Metro Gallery, and Tyson Foods, Inc. The performance in Sikeston is sponsored by Carrie Yanson and the Sikeston Public Schools Foundation.
Tickets can be purchased online at trcc.edu/tinnin.
Tickets are also available at the the Dexter Chamber of Commerce and the Center at Dexter; the Sikeston Public School Foundation offices and the Center at Sikeston; and the Poplar Bluff Chamber of Commerce and the Three Rivers College Business Office.
For a study guide for this production or for more information about the Imaginary Theatre Company, visit www.repstl.org. For more information on upcoming Patrons of the Arts performances, visit trcc.edu/tinnin.
Three Rivers College is committed to contributing to the quality of life in Southeast Missouri with quality, affordable higher education opportunities and community services that support and encourage the economic, civic, and cultural vitality of the region. For more information about college and workforce programs and upcoming events, visit trcc.edu.
Submitted by
Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Editor
United States - This isn't a local story, but hopefully you will be inspired by this amazing 17 year old girl who loves to run! Cross-country running hardly gets the recognition that it deserves. It's a difficult sport, just ask any Bearcat Cross Country Team member here in Dexter. The story of this young athlete is truly remarkable.
Sami Stoner, a legally blind girl from Lexington, Ohio, has inspired thousands across the country with her story of positivity, dedication and overcoming personal obstacles.
The 17-year-old athlete has never let her inability to see keep her from her dreams of running cross-country.
As an eighth grader, Stoner was diagnosed with Stargardt Disease, a form of juvenile macular degeneration that quickly took away her central vision, sparing only some peripheral sight. Although the condition prevents her from driving, it hasn't kept her from running, a sport she took up before her vision deteriorated.
During her first two years at Lexington High, Stoner ran alongside a friend, Hannah Ticoras, who sacrificed her own times to escort Stoner safely from start to finish. But after Ticoras graduated in 2011, Stoner faced a dilemma.
Enter Chloe, an energetic golden retriever Stoner met last summer through Pilot Dogs Inc., a Columbus nonprofit that matches visually impaired individuals with guide dogs. The pair began running short stretches together during their month-long orientation in Columbus, eventually working up to the five-kilometer distance of Stoner's cross-country races.
The Ohio High School Athletic Association at first denied Stoner's request to compete in sanctioned races with Chloe, but the governing body ultimately relented, clearing the duo to debut at a Galion, Ohio, meet last September. Under safety measures agreed upon with the OHSAA, Stoner and Chloe start 20 to 30 seconds after other competitors and must finish outside narrow finish-line chutes, Harris said.
Although Stoner is ineligible to score -- only the fastest seven varsity times count at most meets, she said -- she finished in less than 30 minutes for the first time last fall. She credits trust in Chloe for bolstering her confidence and shaving seconds off her times. "She's always focused on what's ahead of us," Stoner said.
Approaching life with uncommon verve despite her disability, those close to her say, Stoner strives to be a positive role model for other visually impaired people, including a young girl she began mentoring recently.
But she's not stopping there. Now, Stoner has her sights set on the future. She hopes to compete at the collegiate level next year at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio, her school of choice.
Stoner, who began losing her vision in eighth grade, has been overwhelmed by the support she's received in her community and beyond.
"I can't even wrap my head around how much support we have," she told USA Today. "It's been so incredible. We're lucky to have it."
And of course, she couldn't have done it without her dog, Chloe. The Golden Retriever runs with Sami for miles, often through the woods. Chloe is now considered another member of the cross-country team.
Sami's father, Keith, is hopeful about his daughter's career as a runner, saying, "I don't see a lot of limitations in her future."
Sami herself is no less optimistic about her future as a runner, and her attitude has been relentlessly positive.
"If you love something enough, you'll find a way to do it," she told ABC News, "Even if you have struggles."
Pretty impressive and we should all remember that nothing is impossible if we just set our sights on a goal and GO FOR IT! Every person who reads this should be inspired by her positive attitude!
Dexter High School has a Cross Country Team and will be hosting a Meet this Saturday, October 26th at 10:00 a.m. Please come out and support the Bearcats as they run and enjoy a sport they truly enjoy and love! Go Bearcats!!!
